This Terracotta tiled floor installed in a house in Wilmslow had become black and discoloured in areas due to the customer being badly advised on what sealer to use themselves; this resulted in the sealer staying tacky and turning black over time

Cleaning Discoloured Terracotta Tiles

To remove any remaining sealer and deep clean the Terracotta tile we used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean worked into the floor with a buffing machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. Pro-Clean is an ideal cleaner for natural floors due to its alkaline formula which doesn’t eat away at the tile like an acidic cleaner, it’s also very good for cleaning up grout however I find that’s best tackled manually using a stiff brush.

Last step in the process was to remove the soiled cleaning solution with a wet vacuum and then wash the whole floor down with clean water in order to neutralise it before sealing, we then left the floor so it could dry overnight.

Sealing and Colouring Terracotta Tiles

The next step was to seal the Terracotta floor and for this we applied Tile Doctor Seal and Go which is a water based sealer recommended for Terracotta floors, it provides stain protection and a low sheen that lifts the look of the floor. Seven coats were required due to the porosity of the Terracotta tile.

Cleaning and Sealing Terracotta Tiled Floor in Cheshire